Awning support



' E. E. ELLIS AWNING SUPPORT Oct. 1, 1957 Filed June '11, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

m L L E E m w cm E. E. ELLIS AWNING SUPPORT Oct. 1, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 11, 1954 INVENTOR; EDWIN E. ELus Oct. 1, 1957 Filed June 11', 1954 1:. E. ELLIS 2,808,065

AWNING SUPPORT 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. EDWIN E. ELLIS AT TOQN EYS AWNING SUPPORT Edwin E. Ellis, Paducah, Ky.

Application June 11, 1954, Serial No. 436,159

2 Claims. (Cl. 135-5) This invention relates to awnings and canopies and more particularly to a supporting frame for the awning and canopy.

It is an object of this invention to provide an awning including the support therefor in which there is incorporated an attractive structure for attachment to the supporting surface, and particularly adapted for use in connection with house trailers.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an awning or canopy including the support therefor which may be readily installed with a minimum amount of skilled labor, of simple light weight construction, and adjustable to adapt itself to varying dimensional conditions so as to enjoy a wide and almost universal application.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide an awning including the supporting structure therefor wherein the awning will be held taut at all times, thus preventing flopping during windy weather, and in which the easily installed structure will be rigidly maintained in operable position under practically all weather conditions.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a canopy or awning and the supporting structure therefor which will impose a minimum load upon the supporting surface to which it is operatively connected.

Also, the awning or canopy of this invention, and the support therefor, can be removed with the same degree of ease as it is installed for the purpose of storing it during such months of the year when the awning would not be practical for the use intended.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description, forming the specification, and taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a perspective view, with parts thereof partially broken away, showing the awning and the support embodying this invention;

Figure 2 is a transverse cross sectional view taken substantially on line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a vertical cross sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Figure 1 and shown on a somewhat enlarged scale;

Figure 4 is a vertical cross sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Figure 2, and shown on a somewhat enlarged scale;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the pivotal coupling connection between the standards and the rafters of the support structure as engaged with the front cross bar of the structure; and

Figure 6 is an exploded perspective view, parts of which are shown fragmentarily, of one of the plurality of identical supporting members of the support structure.

With continued reference to the drawings, there is shown an awning which comprises the canvas covering, generally indicated at 10, a support structure for covering 10, and a canvas receiving rail, generally indicated at 1.2, which receives one end of the canvas covering 10 and is adapted to be secured to a supporting structure.

The canvas covering or awning sheet 10, which may be made of material other than canvas, has a longitudinally extending pocket 14 formed at one end thereof by folding the material of the awning sheet 10 back upon itself and secured along the free edge of the folded back portion as by the usual stitching or other suitable method of attachment. Into this pocket 14 is placed a cord or line 16, preferably of rope, the opposite ends of which extend beyond the transverse sides of the awning sheet 10.

The rail 12 has a longitudinally extending body or flange portion 18 adapted to be secured to a supporting surface 20 by conventional fastener means such as screws at spaced apart locations therealong. The body or flange 18 dependingly carries along its lower longitudinal edge a substantially circular, hollow tube 22 provided with a longitudinally extending slot through the wall thereof so that the pocket 14 with the cord or line 16 therein which defines a bead, may be inserted through one of the open ends of the tube 22 and secured within the bore 24 of the tube 22 so that the body of the awning sheet 10, indicated at 26, may extend laterally therefrom.

The awning sheet 10 is supported in a taut condition over the supporting structure extending laterally from the supporting surface 20. The supporting structure includes a plurality of transversely extending rafters 28, 30 and 32, each rafter supported by an adjustable standard 34, 36 and 38 respectively.

' Since each of the rafters and the associated standard are identical in construction, the description of the rafter 28 and its associated standard 34 will be described in detail and will suffice for the construction of all of the rafters and their associated standards.

The standard 34 comprises a length of hollow tubular material, such as metal, defining the major portion 40 of the standard or column 34. The portion 40 is open at both ends, and receives in its open lower end 42 an upstanding plug 44 of the generally rectangular, plate-like base 46. The base 46 is provided with spaced apertures therethrough to either side of the lower end 42 of the portion 40 whereby the base may be anchored by suitable fastener elements passing therethrough and engaging into the surface upon which the base rests.

A pair of transversely extending slots 48 and 50 are cut into the plug 44 intermediate its ends and at opposite sides thereof, the grooves or slots being in spaced parallel relation and at the same distance from the base 46.

The open upper end 52 telescopically receives therein one end 54 of a elongated circular rod 56. A collar 58 is carried by the tubular portion 40 adjacent its upper end 52 so as to extend circumferentially thereabout. The collar 58 is provided with an internally threaded opening to receive the threaded shank of a Wing bolt 60 which passes therethrough and through a registering opening in the wall of the portion 40 so as to contact the rod 56 and secure the rod in selected telescopic position within the portion 40.

Carried by and surrounding the outer end 62 of the rod 56, remote from the end 54 received in the open end 52 of the tubular portion 40, is a socket 64. The socket 64 may be secured to the rod 56 as by the set screw 66. A pair of spaced hooks 68 and 70 are integrally formed with the socket 64 and extend longitudinally therefrom at the end thereof remote from the end having the bore 65 in which is received the end 62 of the rod 56. The hooks 68 and 70 define a bifurcation and the hook portions thereof face in the same direction in spaced parallel relation to each other.

The rafter, generally indicated at 28, comprises an elongated hollow tubular member 72, one end 74 of which is flattened so as to be received within the space between 'the spaced parallel ears 76 formed centrally intermediate the ends of the spaced parallel legs 78 and 80 of a U-shaped bearing bracket, generally indicated at 82. The bight portion 84 of the bracket 82, connecting the legs 78 and 80, is adapted to frictionally engage the vertical supporting surface 20 immediately beneath the rail 12, as shown in Figure 2, under the influence of a coiled spring 86 disposed within the tube 72 adjacent its other open end 88.. The flattened end 74 is secured to the bearing bracket 82 between the cars 76 thereof by a bolt 90 passing through suitable registering apertures in the ears and the flattened end portion 74. The bolt may be secured by the usual nut 92.

The tube 72 is disposed within a transversely extending pocket 94 provided on the inner surface of the awning sheet by a length of materiak preferably similar to the material of the awning sheet 10, and sewn thereto along its opposite longitudinally extending edges.

The spring 86 is maintained betwen the shank of a bolt 96 inserted in a selected one of the apertures 98 drilled in the upper Wall of the tube 72 adjacent the open end 88, and at the other end, the spring 86 bears against the end 99 of a circular rod 100 telescopically received within the tube 72 through the open end 88 thereof.

The other end 102 is received within a circular bore 103 provided in one end of a socket 104, similar to the socket 64, so that the socket 104 is carried by and extends longitudinally from the rod 100.

The socket 104 is integrally formed therewith a pair of longitudinally extending, spaced, parallel hooks 106 and 108 projecting from the end thereof remote from the end which receives the rod 100, with the hooks curved in the same direction. An elongated tubular, front cross bar 110 is removably carried in a pocket 112 formed on the under surface of the awning sheet 10 adjacent the end thereof remote from the longitudinal pocket 14, and the pocket 112 extends in spaced parallel relation to the pocket 14, that is, longitudinally of the awning sheet 10.

In the erection and installation of the awning, the awning sheet or covering 10 is first threaded into the bore 24 of the tube 22 carried on the rail or molding 12, at the end of the sheet or covering having the bead defined by the pocket 14 and the cord or line 16 therein. The elongated tubular front cross bar 110 is then inserted in the pocket 112 on the awning sheet or covering 10. The inserted cross bar 110 is then gripped and the awning sheet or covering pulled laterally from the rail or molding 12 so that it is stretched in a taut condition and permitting the scalloped edge valance 114 will depend therefrom to define the longitudinal end of the awning sheet or covering 10 remote from the end carrying the pocket 14 to provide the decorative effect.

It will be apparent that the body 26 of the awning sheet or covering 10 extendsfrom the rail or molding 12 through the longitudinal slot provided therein after the beaded end has been inserted into the bore of the tube 22.

With the awning sheet or covering 10 maintained in a stretched and taut condition, the rafters 28, 30 and 32 are inserted in their respective associated pockets, similar to the transversely extending pocket 94 in which the. rafter 28 is received, with each of the rafters inserted through the end of the pocket adjacent the longitudinally extending beading received in the rail or molding 12, so that the bearing brackets, similar to the bearing bracket 82, on each of the rafters will frictionally engage against the vertical supporting surface 20. The rods, similar to the rod 100 may then be inserted into the associated pocket, so that the end of the rodremote from the end carrying the socket will be telescopically received within the adjacent open end of the tube of the rafter and contacting the adjacent end of the spring, similar to the spring 86, so as to compress the spring. With the spring in the desired compressed condition, predetermined by the selected one of the apertures 98 in which the bolt 96 has been inserted, the hooks on the socket will encirclingly engage about approximately one-half the cross bar 110, as shown in Figures 4 and 5, so that the spring will resiliently urge the bearing bracket into frictional engagement with the supporting surface and the hooks of the socket against the cross bar 110 to thus maintain the awning sheet or covering in the desired condition.

The standards 34, 36 and 38 are then each adjusted to the desired height, the height of each of the standards being preferably the same, by selectively adjusting the telescopic relation of the rods carrying the sockets to the hollow tubular body portion of the standard and securing the rod in selected adjusted position by tightening the set screw, in the form of a wing bolt carried by the collar, similar to the collar 58 on the standard 34, and the hooks on the sockets, similar to the hooks 68 and 70 of the socket 64, engaging about the cross bar 110 and to the side thereof remote from the side engaged by the books of the socket carried by the rafters, with the hooks of one socket interengaging between the space between the hook of the other socket to define a joint connecting the standards to the rafters without the use of auxiliary fastener devices, such as bolts and screws.

With regard to the joint formed by the socket hooks of the rafter and its associated standard, attention is di rected to the illustration in Figure 5 which clearly shows the manner in which this joint is formed and wherein it will be seen that the hook 106 of the socket 104 is received in the space betwen the books 68 and 70 of the socket 64 with the hook 108 in adjoining relation to the hook 70 so that the book 70 is received in the space.

between the books 106 and 108, with both pairs of hooks partially encircling the rod 110 and engaging opposite sides thereof.

selectively adjusted distance from the base thereof, the

opposite sides of the hollow tubular body or major portion of each of the standards, as shown in Figure 3, will be crimped inwardly adjacent the. end resting on the base,

7 similar to they crimped portions 116 and 118 of the portion 40 of the standards 34, so that the crimps will enter the grooves or slots 48 and 50 respectively to thereby secure the base to the major portion or tube 40 of the standard 34.

Suitable fastener devices may then be passed through the spaced holes 120 in the base of the standard so as to anchor the standard to the surface upon which it is resting.

Thus, it will be apparent that the completed structure will provide a readily erectable awning and support in which the ends of the support rafters remote from their conection to the associated standard will be spi'ingurged to frictionally engage the vertical supporting surface from which the awning and supportis to extend, and the joint connection between the rafters and their associated standard will be maintained by the same resilient pressure of the spring contained within the rafter and bearing against the cross bar so as to maintain the awning sheet in a taut condition under varying weather conditions. Also, it is pointed out that the resilient pressure against the rod 100, for instance, by the spring 86 will urge the socket carried by the rod into engagement with the cross bar 110 so as to make a relatively rigid, yet flexible joint connection thereat with the socket 64 of the standard 34. The same relation, of course, applies to the other rafters and their associated standards.

Also, by virtue of the rounded nature of each of the bight portion 84 of the bearing brackets, there will be not danger of marri'ng the surface against which the bear ing bracket is-frictionally engaged under the resilient urging of the spring contained within the associated rafter.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that there has been provided an awning which comprises a longitudinally channeled rail 12 for attachment to a supporting surface 20, and awning sheet having one end 14' thereof engaged n the longtudinal channel or bore 24 of the tube portion 22 of the rail, a plurality of spaced transversely extending rafters 28, and 32 over which the awning sheet 10 is disposed to provide a cover, a cross bar 110 carried by the awning sheet adjacent its other end 114 in spaced parallel relation to the rail 12, means in the form of sockets, similar to the socket 104, carried by each of the rafters at one end thereof resiliently urged into engagement with the cross bar 110, and means carried by the other end of each of the rafters being resiliently urged into frictional engagement with the supporting surface 20 adjacent the rail 12, a standard associated with each of the rafters and operatively connected thereto at the juncture of the connecting means with the cross bar.

With regard to the spring 86, it will be observed that the one end of the spring bears against the bolt 96 which defines a spring stop while the other end of the spring is seated against and bears upon the end 99 of the rod 100 which is telescopically received within the open end 88 of the tubular member 72 so that the spring 86 may be compressed therebetween and exert a resilient pressure to urge the supporting surface engaging means, bearing bracket 82, into frictional engagement with the supporting surface 20 and also resiliently urging the connecting means in the form of the hooks 106 and 108 carried by the socket 104 into engagement with the cross bar 110. v

While there are shown and described the preferred embodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that the structure is susceptible to change and modification within the practicability of the invention and therefore should be limited only by the scope of the claims appended hereto.

What is claimed is:

1. An awning comprising a longitudinally channeled rail adapted for attachment to a supporting surface above a ground surface, an awning sheet having one end thereof engaged in the channel of said rail, a cross bar carried by the other end of the said awning sheet and extending longitudinally thereof parallel to said rail, spaced standards on the ground surface spaced from said supporting surface and operatively engaging said cross bar at their upper ends so as to extend the awning sheet between the rail and the standards above the ground surface, support means extending between and in engagement at opposite ends with said supporting surface and said cross bar respectively and over which said awning sheet is arranged to provide a cover, resilient means carried by said support means uring the opposite ends of said support means into their engagement with said supporting surface and said cross bar respectively to maintain the awning sheet taut under conditions of pressure acting upon the awning sheet, said support means including a plurality of longitudinallyspaced transverse rafters, each rafter comprising a hollow tubular member open at one end, means for engaging said supporting surface adjacent said rail carried by said member at the other end thereof, a spring seated at one end within said tubular member adjacent the open end thereof, a rod having one end thereof telescopically and slidably received in the open end of said tubular member and against which one end of the rod the other end of said spring bears, connecting means carried by the other end of said rod for releasably engaging said cross bar, said spring defining the resilient means urging said rod and said support surface-engaging means away from each other and into their engagement with the cross bar and the supporting surface respectively.

2. An awning comprising a longitudinally channeled rail adapted for attachment to a supporting surface above a ground surface, an awning sheet having one end thereof engaged in the channel of said rail, a cross bar carried by the other end of the said awning sheet and extending longitudinally thereof parallel to said rail, spaced standards on the ground surface spaced from said Supporting surface and operatively engaging said cross bar at their upper ends so as to extend the awning sheet between the rail and the standards above the ground surface, support means extending between and in engagement at opposite ends with said supporting surface and said cross bar respectively and over which said awning sheet is arranged to provide a cover, resilient means carried by said support means urging the opposite ends of said support means into their engagement with said supporting surface and said cross bar respectively to maintain the awning sheet taut under conditions of pressure acting upon the awning sheet, said support means including a plurality of longitudinally-spaced transverse rafters, each rafter comprising a hollow tubular member open at one end, means for engaging said supporting surface adjacent said rail carried by said member at the other end thereof, a spring seated at one end within said tubular member adjacent the open end thereof, a rod having one end thereof telescopically and slidably received in the open end of said tubular member and against which one end of the rod the other end of said spring bears, connecting means carried by the other end of said rod for releasably engaging said cross bar, said spring defining the resilient means urging said rod and said support surface-engaging means away from each other and into their engagement with the cross bar and the supporting surface respectively connecting means carried at the upper end of each of said standards for releasably engaging said cross bar at the location of engagement of the connecting means on each of said rods with said cross bar, each of the connecting means on said rods and said standards including spaced hooks arranged in interfitting relation with each other at the location of engagement with the cross bar to prevent lateral shifting of the awning sheet.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,423,402 Olsen July 1, 1947 2,568,048 Arnold Sept. 18, 1951 2,615,459 Adams Oct. 28, 1952 2,679,255 Stafford May 25, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 149,282 Switzerland Nov, 2, 1931 

